Gomez rebounds in Pool Speed Challenge

FILIPINO Roberto “Superman” Gomez bounced back from a forgettable first session, five-rack outing of 6:43 mins with a much improved run of 5:21 mins in yesterday’s second session for a total qualifying round time of 12:04 mins and boost his chances of making the Top 32 round after the second day of the Guinness World Series of Pool: Speed Challenge at the Ciputra World Mall in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Meanwhile, World 8-Ball champion Dennis Orcollo upstaged compatriots Jeffrey De Luna and Gomez in the first session of the preliminary rounds last Friday.

With the tournament adopting a brand new format of 10-Ball speed pool, the first day of competition proved to be a learning experience for most players. Unfortunately, Gomez was one of the many players who felt uncomfortable during his turn at the table which translated to an unimpressive first day.

But determined to improve, Gomez took the challenge in stride and through keen observation of the playing style of yesterday’s top performers, Britain’s Karl Boyes (4:24 mins) and Chris Melling (4:20 mins), the Filipino was able to make the necessary adjustments in his second session.

With the worst five-rack times averaging in the high eight minutes, Gomez’ time should be strong enough to carry him through to the next round.

Orcollo (04:31 mins) and De Luna (05:20 mins) whose initial times belong in the top ten, have yet to make their second set of five-rack qualifiers. Both are also in great position to enter the Top 32.

The first round of the GWSOP: Speed Pool Challenge sees the 40 players battling the clock as they play two sessions of five racks each with the top 32 times advancing to the next round. From there it will be a single knockout format all the way to the semifinals with each match having the players face-off in five racks, whoever has the total best-time wins. The finals will be a 7- rack shootout to determine the winner.